Deputy Minister of Justice on Telegram: "Yoon Seok-yeol's Constitutional Petition Is a Mistake"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] A social networking service (SNS) message, in which Lee Yong-gu, Vice Minister of Justice and a member of the disciplinary committee, harshly criticized the constitutional complaint on the Prosecutors' Disciplinary Act filed by Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol's side on the 4th as an "악수 (bad move)," was caught on camera.

Vice Minister Lee attended the first subcommittee of the National Assembly's Judiciary Committee on the same day and left a message in a Telegram chatroom on his mobile phone saying, "I think Yoon (the Prosecutor General) is making a bad move. Generally, this is an option chosen by those who lack confidence in the substance."

A chat participant named 'Jo Doo-hyun,' presumed to be a policy advisor to Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae, posted a link to an article related to Prosecutor General Yoon's constitutional complaint and asked, "What is this tactic? Does it affect the disciplinary committee?"

Vice Minister Lee replied, "There is no way an injunction will be granted, and if this is unconstitutional, what about those who have been disciplined so far?" adding, "Just compare it with the Judges' Disciplinary Act."

Another participant in the chatroom was labeled 'Lee Jong-geun 2.' Some speculated that this was Lee Jong-geun, Chief of the Criminal Division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, but Vice Minister Lee denied this.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

After the subcommittee ended, Vice Minister Lee told reporters, "It was a mistake I saved in the past," explaining that 'Lee Jong-geun 2' was not Chief Lee but his wife, "Park Eun-jung, the Justice Ministry's Inspection Officer." Regarding the use of the term "bad move," he explained, "I said it without even reading the (article) content."

Earlier, Prosecutor General Yoon's side filed a lawsuit claiming that the Prosecutors' Disciplinary Act, which allows the formation of a disciplinary committee led by the Minister of Justice, is unconstitutional. They also filed a provisional injunction request to suspend the disciplinary committee procedures until the constitutionality is decided.